


Birthright

by Cheesecake_pie



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Asgard, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Marvel - Freeform, Might continue eventually, Protective Siblings, Short One Shot, War, alternative, how it should have ended, mad at infinity war, space, took me two years between writing and uploading this, watch me try to fix things with fanfics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:40:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27390598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cheesecake_pie/pseuds/Cheesecake_pie
Summary: The beginning of infinity war, but this time around the scene does Loki justice and doesn't pathetically kill him off within the first few minutes. So yeah, i basically just shortly rewrote the first scene of infinity war to my liking. Enjoy! :)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 16





	Birthright

**Author's Note:**

> After seeing it in theaters I was so mad that I decided to fix things and rewrite the scene to do Loki justice. Endgame didn't do much to fix things and after two years I found this fic again on my computer and decided to finally share it, so enjoy and give some feedback :)

Loki had always known that he would have to face Thanos again one day. Thanos was not one to spare people and after he failed his mission on earth it at only been a matter of time until Thanos would come for him. 

Nevertheless he’d thought he’d be ready. He’d be ready to fight Thanos once he would stand face to face with him again. But now that he stood next to his brother, watching the ship rise up in front of the Asgardian refugee vessel, he felt his hand start to shake, only ever so slightly, but yet. Loki overplayed it quickly, clenching his fist, his fingernails biting deep into the worn out skin. But even this didn’t stop the dark memories from flooding into his head. Times he had desperately tried to forget.

Thor of course didn’t notice this small change in Loki, being completely focused on the terrifying sight ahead of him.

“Brother…?”, he said turning his head to Loki but not letting his eyes leave the ship. Loki snapped out of his thoughts.

“We need to evacuate this ship, we need to leave, now!”, Loki was already halfway through the door, on his way to the middle deck, when he heard the first explosion. The whole ship shook under the force of the blast, throwing people against each other. The next thing Loki heard were the screams. For a split second he froze. A memory, long buried filled his head. One filled with his own scream of terror, from a time before New York, right after Thanos had found him.

Thor darted past him, snapping Loki out of his memory in the process.

The God of Mischef had planned to leave at the first sight of Thanos and bring the Tesseract away. But now that the time had come he found that he couldn’t. Not with every remaining Asgardian on board. He himself was no Asgardian and they had never been his real people, but they were the only people Loki had ever known to be his. And no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t simply let them die. Not after everything they and Thor had lost already. So instead of leaving the ship, he grabbed his daggers and got ready for the fight.

The hallways were filled with sceams and the sounds of battle. Most people on the ship were no warriors and yet they fought in a braver way than some warriors might have. But it wasn’t enough. The smell of death filled the air as Loki rushed across the corridors, pushing women and children into the hallway behind him, hoping there they’d find a spot to hide away. Out of reach from Thanos. A foolish hope, he knew, but it was the most he could do at the moment. Right in front of him he could make out a blast of lightning, electricity rattling through the air. Thor had already engaged himself fully into the battle. Loki slashed his daggers left and right, aiming to do even the slightest damage to Thanos’ minions as he joined Thor’s side. Valkyrie and Korg where nowhere to be seen. As well as Bruce Banner, who might have been of some use. But he couldn’t think of them now. What mattered the most was the battle right in front of him.

“You took your sweet time, in joining me, brother”, panted Thor, sending a lightning blast into the direction of some Outriders.

“But I am here now, am I not?”, answered Loki, all the while slashing the arm of an alien, coming for Thors back, “Fighting side by side once again” Both of them were completely emersed in the fight, Thor making use of his newly discovered power, and Loki slashing his daggers around him, bringing the aliens down one by one. 

But all around them one Asgardian after the other fell. This ship was not a ship of warriors, but one of refugees and families. Only a handfull of the passengers had been trained. And that was clearly not enough. Deep down, both brothers knew it was a lost cause. 

“Thor, listen to me! We can’t hold them back!”

“Maybe not, but I sure as hell will tr…“, he was cut of by a roaring sound. Five figures had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Without having to give them a closer look, Loki knew who they were. The black order had arrived. And Thanos would come next.

„Thor! We have to…“, he he meant to turn to Thor, but even before he could finish his sentence Thor was attacked by a member of the Dark Order. Thor’s powers were nothing compared to those of the monster in front of him. Loki could do nothing but watch, as his brother fell to the ground, exhausted, his face twisted in pain. Before he knew it he was surrounded by the black order. The fight had slowly ebbed down, the ground splattered with blood and corpses. Loki still had the Tesseract. It was the only reason he was still alive. If he wanted to survive this, he had to use it on his behalf. Fighting would only kill him. He stepped back, making his daggers disappear at the flash of green light and turned around to the black order. He studied them, one by one, pure hatred filling his eyes. 

„ I know why you are here“. Loki knew he had to play for time. Play around with the enemy until he knew what to do next, „You have come to retrieve the Tesseract, haven’t you?“

„Hand it over Asgardian“, one of them said, pointing their spear at him.

„Oh, but… I don’t have it“, he faked a nervous chuckle, lifting his arms up as if to prove he did’t have the Tesseract. He risked a glance towards Thor. The god of thunder was still on the ground, but Loki could see that he was regaining his strength. He simply had to play for some more time.

„Don’t play games with us, Asgardian! Hand it over!“

„You see, the problem here is,“ Loki started to take a few steps back and forth, looking for any sign of Valkyrie and Banner, all the while keeping the light tone in his voice, „the Tesseract was locked inside Odin’s vault. And because of my lovely sister, Hela, that vault with all of Asgard is now destroyed“ He absolutely detested talking to the black order in this manner, but he knew he had no other choice. He subtly looked back at Thor. Thor slightly shifted his head, making eye contact with Loki. He nodded his head a little at Loki then shifted away again. Loki understood.

„So there you have it“, he concluded his little speech, „No Tesseract to be found here“

At that exact moment Thor jumped up to his feet and summoned a mighty lightning blast, sending it off towards the black order. Loki wanted to join in, ready to draw his knifes. But then he felt it. The presence of the Titan he had been dreading for so long. 

„That was a sad attempt, Asgardians“, said a low, grumbling voice. The sound made Loki shudder. He slowly turned around, only to see Thor, now in full rage, surge against Thanos. Loki wanted to stop him, but it was too late. It didn’t take more than one hit, and Thor was down. And there it was. The moment Loki had dreaded for years. Face to face with Thanos. And his brother at Thanos’ feet. And for the first time in a while, he wasn’t sure of what to do. It frightened him. He had always had a plan, always had the means to escape any situation. He could feel a sense of panic starting to grow, a panic he could not let take over. Yet, this was Thanos, one of the most powerful beings in the universe.

Thanos started to walk towards him with heavy steps, dragging Thor behind him.

„I know what it's like to lose. To feel so desperately that you're right, yet to fail nonetheless. It’s frightening. Turns the legs to jelly. I ask you, to what end? Dread it. Run from it. Destiny arrives all the same. And now, it's here. Or should I say, I am.“ Loki wanted to scream, run hide, but he could not. He wanted to get away from this titan, from the titan whose voice he knew all too well. The voice that had haunted him in his dreams. But seeing his brother being dragged by that… that monster he could not leave. Instead he froze. Not daring to move, but simply staring at Thanos. Out of the corner of his eye, he could suddenly see movement. It was Banner hiding behind some rubble, looking at the scenery in front of him. A Plan started to form in Loki’s mind, one that could only work, if Banner understood what to do. It was a slim chance but one he had to use. He forced his eyes back to Thanos.

„The Tesseract. Or your brother head“, Thanos said, lifting Thor’s head in demonstration, „I’m sure you have a preference“ 

Loki’s eyes didn’t leave Thanos as he said: „Oh, I do“ and then „Kill away!“

Of course Loki wouldn’t let his brother be killed. But a small spiteful part of him, one that was still full of envy against Thor, wanted him to feel what he had felt like. Wanted him to feel how it had felt to be at the total mercy of Thanos, to be hurt, tortured by him. In that second that part of him took over. But as soon as he saw Thanos press the infinity stone against Thor’s temple he regretted it. He could hear Thor’s screams, which sounded an awful lot like his own did back then, could see his brothers face, distorted in pain. And he just couldn’t bear to see him like that, could not…

„Alright, stop!“, he blurted out, too ashamed to look at his brother and yet wanting to run over to him. He let out a small sigh. He would have to give up the Tesseract. 

„We don’t have the Tesseract“, Thor coughed, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, „It was destroyed on Asgard“ 

Slowly Loki extended his hand, glancing at Thor in a regretful way. He had taken the Tesseract in the hopes it would be of use. But not in this way. And not as a trade for his brother’s life. With the help of his magic, he made the Tesseract appear in his palm. As soon as he touched it he saw a bunch of images, flying across his vision. The Tesseract had the ability to show one the future, Loki knew that much, but they weren’t always true. Some of them were meant to deceive, others showed the truth. In that blink of an eye, he saw death, blood, the avengers, but also him and his brother. Together, smiling and carefree.  
He held on to that small vision, taking a deep breath before taking a step towards Thanos. 

„I assure you brother, the sun will shine on us again“ Loki truly believed in what he said. There would be a time when all of this was over. A happier time. But for that they would’ve to get through this. And he wanted to offer Thor some reassurance. Because that was all he could at the moment.

„Your optimism is misplaced, Asgardian“, Thanos said, still holding Thor in his grip.

„Well for one thing, I am no Asgardian. And for the other… We have a hulk“, and with that the Hulk jumped out from where Banner had been hiding. Banner had understood to wait for the right moment. Loki dropped the Tesseract to the ground, and threw himself onto Thor to shield him, all the while the Hulk attacked Thanos with full force. Loki knew that he didn’t have much time. As powerful has the Hulk might have been, even he couldn’t hold off Thanos for long. If Loki wanted to leave he had to do it now. And deep down he knew that if he didn’t, he would die. His arms still around Thor, he bend his head down and whispered „I’m sorry“ before getting up hastily and using the chaos that had erupted for his advantage. It hurt him to leave Thor laying there, helpless and powerless, but he had to leave. Hastily Loki retired to the other end of the ship, almost tripping over dead bodies. He could sense the freedom infront of him, being finally free from Thanos’ terror. And yet, he knew that it wouldn’t end there. The Tesseract had shown him the battle, and they would need everyone they could get. And even though he escaped now, it didn’t mean he wouldn’t be there to help when the time is right. And he knew just the place to go.

Loki found a dark and quiet corner at the end of one of the hallways and forced himself to halt. Banner wouldn’t keep up the fight long, so he had to act now. Loki was not as strong or skilled in battle as Thor, but he had his own set of skills. Skills he wouldn’t have learned if it hadn’t been for Frigga. Now it was time to put all of his powers to the test.

Summoning all of his magic and sorcery he created an illusion of himself more realistic than any other he had ever created. Loki knew, that the only way Thanos would stop looking for him, was if he died before his eyes. Not only did this illusion have to look real, but also feel real to touch. It had always been difficult and draining to summon anything that had real matter, but creating a living, breathing illusion was an even higher level. And it was the only thing that could safe him. Loki was getting exhausted, putting every bit of magic he had in himself into this illusion. Gasping for air he sank to the ground, a heavy headache blurring his vision. The illusion started to take a realistic form and started to look a lot like Loki. With one last effort, he finished the illusion, draining himself completely in the process. His skin, that had always looked like any Asgardian`s skin started to slowly turn blue, starting from the top of his fingertips and working its way to his hands and arms. He wasn’t able to keep up the illusion of an Asgardian anymore. With an exhausted sigh, he let go of that spell completely, the spell he had subconsciously kept up as long as he could think of, putting even that tiny bit into the finished magical copy of him. It was done. He sent his illusion back to the main hallway, where it would have to fight this battle for him.

For a short while, Loki just sat on the ground, staring at his hands. Touching the pattern on his skin, the skin he had resented for so long. It was time to accept who he was. It was time to accept his true birthright. And with that thought in mind, he stood up and made himself ready to travel to Jotunheim, where he would gather an army and help defeat Thanos once and for all.


End file.
